PASADENA – If beauty is in the eye of the beholder, then it’s understandable why UCLA will look back on Saturday’s 21-14 win over Utah at the Rose Bowl as a hard-fought, character-building result that showed the Bruins’ resiliency.

But a stagnant offense and a comedy of errors on special teams provided a different view that underscores concerns.

UCLA (5-2, 2-2 Pac-12) was shut out for two quarters and looked nothing like the Bruins who entered the game against Utah (2-4, 0-3) as one of the top passing and rushing teams in the nation. But the struggles on offense perhaps pale in comparison to what transpired on special teams in what’s seemingly becoming a trend.

UCLA led 7-0 early in the first quarter and forced a Utah punt that redshirt freshman Steven Manfro mishandled. Manfro back-pedaled and was credited for a minus-3 yards rushing before fumbling in the end zone, where it was recovered by Utah’s Ryan Lacy to tie the score at 7-7 with with 4:31 left in the first quarter.

“(Utah punter Sean Sellwood) just bombed that thing,” UCLA coach Jim Mora explained. “Steven was looking right up into the sun and made an error in judgement. It’s a tough catch that he shouldn’t have tried to make.”

It was the second consecutive game Manfro fumbled on special teams. He fumbled a kickoff last week at California.

At this rate, the Bruins will spend their bye week working on special teams a little longer. That much was evident by the way UCLA ended the game with another special teams error.

On its final possession with 8 seconds left, Jeff Locke punted on fourth-and-8 at the 33 on what should have been the final play. But walk-on freshman Logan Sweet downed the ball with one second left, giving Utah a final – albeit improbable – chance for a tie.

“We told the fellas on the sideline to just let the official blow the whistle and then pick it up and hand it to them,” Mora said. “Logan just made an instinctive play. It just bounced to him and he grabbed it. You wish that hadn’t happened, but it did.”

Utah attempted a few lateral passes but to no avail as an illegal forward pass coupled with a dropped pass ended matters.

UCLA did show improvement. The secondary wasn’t called for any pass interference calls that fueled drives at California last week. The Bruins also committed five fewer penalties (seven) and had its lowest total of penalty yards (47) this season. Still, there were some lapses in focus, particularly in the second quarter when the Bruins were called for a false start and a delay of game after a Utah timeout. Instead of going for it, UCLA punted on fourth-and-10 at the Utah 34.

“We needed a tough game like that,” Mora said. “Games like that build character.”

UCLA quarterback Brett Hundley, who tweaked his knee on the first play of the game but otherwise came away unscathed, finished with 183 yards passing and one touchdown on 15-of-21 passing. He also ran for 68 yards on 15 carries, including a 12-yard touchdown run in the first quarter.

“He made a major step, in my mind, in terms of demonstrating his mobility as a quarterback,” Mora said. “He tucked it and ran when he saw an opportunity to do that.

“That will make him more of a threat to do that.”

Hundley called a timeout after UCLA’s second play and said he needed to gather himself on the sideline . He said he felt fine the rest of the game.

Hundley later found Shaquelle Evans for a 64-yard touchdown pass with 1:07 left in the first quarter. Evans finished with four catches and 91 yards.

“Shaq ditched the corner,” Hundley said. “It was a long read, but we made it happen.”

Johnathan Franklin, who finished with 79 yards on 22 carries, finally scored his first victory over the Utes. He also scored his first touchdown since UCLA’s win over Nebraska.

“I was hungry for it,” Franklin said. “I wanted to score so bad.”

UCLA was 10 of 17 on third-down conversions and rushed for 171 yards.

Still, not the explosiveness the Bruins had displayed in the past.

“Was it pretty?” offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone asked. “No. Were we an explosive, crazy offense today? No. But I thought we ran the ball well. Brett kept some drives alive out of the pocket.”

UCLA held Utah to just 75 yards rushing, including eight yards in the fourth quarter. Cassius Marsh was active up front with four tackles and a sack. Tevin McDonald finished with 10 tackles.

After struggling against California, cornerback Sheldon Price said the secondary found some redemption. Andrew Abbott had a tackle for a loss with an interception and Aaron Hester almost intercepted a pass.

“We all sat down and said we have to get this going,” Price said. “Every little thing is getting critiqued, so anytime someone challenges you you have to take it personal.”

Join the Conversation

We invite you to use our commenting platform to engage in insightful conversations about issues in our community. Although we do not pre-screen comments, we reserve the right at all times to remove any information or materials that are unlawful, threatening, abusive, libelous, defamatory, obscene, vulgar, pornographic, profane, indecent or otherwise objectionable to us, and to disclose any information necessary to satisfy the law, regulation, or government request. We might permanently block any user who abuses these conditions.

If you see comments that you find offensive, please use the “Flag as Inappropriate” feature by hovering over the right side of the post, and pulling down on the arrow that appears. Or, contact our editors by emailing moderator@scng.com.